Palestinians ride a donkey cart past ruined houses, which witnesses said were destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in the east of Gaza City February 10, 2015. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem) / Reuters

Far more male than female civilians died from explosive weapons in Syria and Gaza last July, a report reveals. The research refutes any assumption that women disproportionally bear the impact of explosive violence against civilians in war-torn zones.

In a bid to shed new light on the grueling impact of explosive
weapons on male and female civilians in conflict regions, UK
think tank Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) analysed civilian
fatalities in Syria and Gaza.

The study examined the numbers killed in these
territories during July 2014 – a particularly bloody month marred
by civilian casualties across the globe.

As part of its research, the think tank scrutinized data sourced
from the Centre for Documentation of Violations in Syria (VDC)
along with weekly reports released by the Palestinian Center for
Human Rights (PCHR).

The group’s findings “were unequivocal,” the report
said.

The research revealed explosive violence stemming from conflict
in Gaza and Syria was predominantly responsible for the death of
civilian men and boys.

In both regions, an overwhelming 75 percent of civilian
fatalities were reported as being male. However, this statistic
only accounts for incidences where the gender of related civilian
fatalities was known.

In Gaza, 61 percent of civilian deaths were male, while 20
percent were female, AOAV’s report suggests. Of a total of 1,195 civilian
fatalities, reported figures were as follows: 615 men, 117 boys,
180 women, and 64 girls.

In Syria, the think tank says 76 percent of civilian deaths were
male, while 24 percent were female. Out of 865 fatalities,
reported figures indicated 526 were men, 135 were boys, 117 were
women and 87 were girls.

Leading locations for civilian injuries and deaths include market
places and residential areas, according to AOAV.

In Gaza, the majority of explosive weapons responsible for these
deaths were manufactured, Iain Overton, Director of Policy and
Investigations at AOAV, told RT.

In the case of Syria, much of the arsenal were improvised
explosive devices such as barrel bombs, he said.

Overton, a journalist
who has won prestigious awards for ground-breaking human rights
reporting, told RT public debate is required to address the
misconception that "women disproportionally bear the
brunt of explosive violence against civilians in conflict
zones."

“Many men are being killed who are entirely innocent, and
there should be more debate about this terrible reality,” he
said.

Overton stressed, however, that armed explosive violence in
conflict zones often has a grueling impact on women who escape
fatal blasts.

Particularly damaging “long term secondary effects” of
such violence can often push vulnerable women into poverty and
prostitution, he said.

Chris Nineham, a spokesperson for UK campaign group Stop The War
Coalition, said the actions of the British government have
impacted heavily on Gaza and Syria’s humanitarian crises.

“Hypocrisy is at the heart of UK foreign policy,” he
told RT.

While the government publicly decries the Assad regime and other
rebel groups responsible for grave atrocities in Syria, UK
government policy has compounded the situation, Nineham said.

“UK foreign policy has been a contributing factor to the
intensity of the civil war in Syria, including the supply of
weapons to anti-Assad forces historically,” he said.

Nineham warned that the British government has not done enough to
help the people of Gaza.

“Virtually unreported suffering can be laid at the door of
the UK government on account of its continued support for Israel
and its refusal to criticize or challenge Israeli assaults on the
Gaza strip,” he said.